


Days Gone By

by yuletide_archivist



Category: Elfquest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-12-19
Updated: 2006-12-19
Packaged: 2018-01-25 02:30:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1626788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuletide_archivist/pseuds/yuletide_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Cutter plans the next step of the quest, he notices that Skywise has become more withdrawn with each passing day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Days Gone By

**Author's Note:**

> This story was fun for me because I hadn't written Elfquest in so long. The request didn't specify that it should be NC17, so I left it as is. If you'd like to see the missing scenes that make it more *ahem* adult, just let me know. I do have them. :)
> 
> Written for Dien

 

 

The cool water felt soothing. Cutter would always be a creature of the forest, but, after so many years in the dry air of the desert, he was finding himself distinctly uncomfortable in the mugginess of the day. Even in the days of the Holt the tribe had spent the hottest parts of the afternoon safely ensconced in the cool shadows of their dens. But life in the Sun Village had not only altered his sleeping pattern, it had left him a certain appreciation for the day. Besides, if he hoped to continue learning about Nonna and Adar, he had to be awake when they were.

Nonna and Adar...they were a font of information that Cutter was constantly amazed by. He didn't think he could diver grow bored with them. Skywise felt differently of course, but Cutter didn't blame him. After what he'd gone through, he had more of a right to hate humans than many others. It did become irksome at times, however. After all, Nonna was the closest thing to an answer that they had found in their quest, so why couldn't he see that? And what was more, she had saved his life. That, in and of itself, should have at least earned a grudging trust from the silver haired stargazer, but it was not so. Skywise became gloomier and more reserved with each passing day.

Cutter sank deeper into the water, resting his head on a cool rock, brooding slightly. His people feared change so much, and yet he'd lead them through such changes...greater than any he could recall from their long history. He hated being compared to his father, but he felt a certain appreciation these days for what it must have been like for him. Bearclaw had forged their link with the trolls against the better judgment of his people. And now his son struggled to forge a new link, this time between his tribe and their most ancient enemy.

A single leaf fluttered down onto the still surface of the water and Cutter looked up. There, just as he knew he would be, was Skywise. His friend so rarely came down from the trees, but he had ways of making his presence felt, nonetheless. The glare he threw at Cutter was not one from a wolfrider to his chief, but merely as a disgruntled friend to his belligerent companion. Cutter sighed. He thought he might know what this was about.

*You're angry with, Brother,* he sent in a resigned fashion. It was a statement, not a question. And in sending there is only truth.

*And why shouldn't I be?* came Skywise's bitter reply. *We should have left here by now. The longer we stay, the more likely they are to act the way every other human in the world acts.*

Cutter felt the venom in his friend's words and, though they stung, he tried to smile.

*Come down here,* he commanded. He said it as chief, not brother, not even friend, and he knew Skywise would obey. The soft thump as his friend hit the ground nearby heralded his immediate compliance. There were times when Cutter wondered if their bond would ever cause strife between them, but he thanked the High Ones that they had not been tested yet. However, with a note of despair, he began to suspect that such a test might be looming on the horizon.

Cutter stood, the water lapping modestly about his hips, and fixed Skywise with a stern, yet appraising gaze.

*Fahr,* he sent, using his brother's soul name forcefully, but not unkindly, *you've been this far with me, can't you trust me a bit further?*

*I don't like it, Tam,* Skywise responded, a sulky air to his thoughts. *All humans have ever done is cause us pain, and now...she's keeping you like a pet.*

Cutter paused, his eyes wide as he considered the thought. If there was anything further from the truth, he certainly couldn't think of it. Would could make Skywise say such a thing? And then it occurred to him.

*We haven't spent much time together since we got here,* he sent quietly.

*No, we haven't,* Skywise responded, doing his very best not to sound childish.

A moment's tense silence went by, in which neither young elf looked at the other. Skywise stood haughtily back, his arms crossed over his chest as Cutter reclined on a smooth outcropping of rock. The moment lengthened, becoming almost awkward. Then, without warning, Cutter laughed. Taking a huge swipe at the calm surface of the water, he sent a wave cascading through the air, handily drenching the silver haired elf who, for all the world, attempted to remain dignified despite his newly dripping appearance. With a bit of a growl, half playful, half intent, Skywise pounced on his young chief, driving him under the water. Cutter's amusement echoed through his thoughts.

*It's been a long time, Brother,* Cutter sent, *since we've had a chance to relax together.* He rose from the water, shaking his hair out of his eyes like a wolf.

"It really has," Skywise said aloud, tonelessly. Cutter looked at him curiously, and then nodded. The weight of emotion behind such a statement...he probably had not wanted to feel so exposed by sending.

"Leetah..." Cutter said quietly.

"You know it's not like that," Skywise interrupted. "I've always liked her, even when she was an annoying, spoiled bit of a thing." He smirked.

"Remember when we were young, and we'd spend all night out by ourselves, running with the wolves, or just sitting on some high branch? You must have taught me the names of every last start in the sky. Never could remember a single one though." Cutter shot Skywise a wry grin. "Days gone by..."

"Yeah."

The silence yawned before them once more. In all their long lives together, Cutter had never felt uncomfortable near Skywise. But now...he wasn't sure what he felt. It was impossible to think that their time in the Sun Village had drawn them apart, impossible to imagine that they might not be fighting at each other's side in the years to come. Cutter knew the thought was an overreaction, and yet he couldn't help having it. Where had their friendship taken them?

Cutter had momentarily become so preoccupied by his musings, he did not feel the gentle disturbance of the water around him until Skywise was right in front of him. For a split second, he merely looked at him. And then, Skywise pressed his lips gently against his chief's mouth. Cutter's eyes widened a bit in shock. They had not kissed in so very long...since before Leetah. It was at once a wholly new, and yet familiar sensation. And one he had missed so very much, without ever realizing it. It harkened back to a time when he had not been chief and the weight of the world had not been so firmly settled on his shoulders.

*Brother?* Skywise's thoughts probed at Cutter's mind, almost asking permission.

*I've missed you, too, Fahr.* As Cutter leaned Skywise down on the bank, his ears faintly detected the rustling of leaves, but he paid it no mind.

On the other side of the pond, Nonna drifted away unseen. The ways of the Spirits were not for her eyes to see.

 


End file.
